Migrating VMware Workstation and VMware GSX Server Virtual Machines
You can modify virtual machines created with VMware Workstation 2.0 or higher or VMware GSX Server to run on VMware ESX Server.
The virtual machine you want to migrate must be set up on a virtual SCSI disk. You then migrate it to run from a virtual SCSI disk under ESX Server.
Be sure you have enough space on the VMFS disk where you store virtual machines to hold the full size of the source virtual disk. In ESX Server the disk's full size is allocated at the time the virtual disk file is created. In VMware Workstation and GSX Server, the virtual disk file starts smaller and grows to the maximum size as data is added. Thus, a virtual disk defined as a 2GB disk may be contained in a 500MB file. When you migrate the virtual disk to ESX Server, it occupies 2GB of disk space.
When you install VMware Tools in the VMware ESX Server virtual machine, you may set up a new network driver. If you use the vmxnetdriver, keep in mind that this driver is not suitable for a virtual machine running under VMware Workstation 2.x or under VMware GSX Server on a Linux host. If you think you may want to use this virtual machine under one of those products at a later time, you may find it convenient to do one of the following:
- Use the vlance network driver.
- If you plan to use the vmxnet driver, make a copy of the virtual machine before you migrate it.
Follow these steps to migrate a virtual machine to VMware ESX Server.
- Be sure you have access to the files in the directory that holds the source virtual machine. You may be able to mount the source location, or you may prefer to copy the files to a temporary folder on the console operating system.
If you are not sure where the source files are, open the virtual machine in the VMware product you used to create it, open the Configuration Editor (Settings > Configuration Editor). On a Windows host, click the name of the drive you want to migrate. In the Disk file section, click Choose...*to see the location information. On a Linux host, expand the SCSI Drives tree and click the name of the drive you want to migrate. Click *Choose... to see the location information.
- Using a Web browser, log in to the ESX Server machine as root and click Manage Files. Use the file manager in the VMware Management Interface to perform all the file copy steps described below.
- In the file manager, navigate to the location of the source disk files. Select the main disk (.vmdk or .dsk) file for the virtual disk you are migrating, then click Copy.
- Navigate to the vmfs folder and open the folder for the VMFS partition where you want to store the virtual disk file. Click Paste.
A dialog box appears with the message "You are transferring one or more console virtual disks to a VMFS partition. In order for virtual machines to access these disks, they must be converted to the VMFS format. Although you can convert console disks at any time, it is recommended that you do so now."
The file you are pasting is selected. Click OK.
The virtual disk is imported to the VMFS partition.
Note: If you do not see the message about transferring disks, there is a problem with the import. Be sure you are pasting to the correct vmfs folder.
- Select the newly imported .dsk file, then click Edit Properties.
- Change the user and group names in the right-hand column so the file's owner and group match those of the user who will run the virtual machine.
If necessary, change the filename extension to .dsk.
Click OK.
- Log out, then log back in as the user who will run the new virtual machine.
- Create a new virtual machine as described in Creating a New Virtual Machine. When you set the file name for the new virtual machine's disk, be sure to use the virtual disk file you just copied to the VMFS partition.
- Boot your virtual machine using VMware ESX Server and follow the instructions below for installing VMware Tools and the network driver in the virtual machine.
Some guest operating systems display messages about detecting hardware changes and require you to reboot the virtual machine. This occurs because VMware ESX Server uses an emulation for chipsets and BIOS that is slightly different from those used by other VMware products.
Installing VMware Tools and the Network Driver in the Guest Operating System
This section describes how to install VMware Tools and the network driver in the guest operating system.
- Installing VMware Tools and the Network Driver in a Windows 2000 Guest
- Installing VMware Tools and the Network Driver in a Windows NT 4.0 Guest
- Installing VMware Tools and the Network Driver in a Linux Guest
- Installing VMware Tools in a [FreeBSD] Guest
Note the following:
- The steps for each guest operating system assume that you are working from a remote console connected to your virtual machine.
- Prepare your virtual machine to install VMware Tools. Choose Settings > VMware Tools Install.
This option prepares the CD-ROM drive in the virtual machine to use an ISO image file containing the VMware Tools packages. This image, which appears as a regular CD-ROM disk in the virtual machine, was placed on your server machine when you installed VMware ESX Server. Installing VMware Tools and the Network Driver in a Windows 2000 Guest
- Choose Settings > VMware Tools Install.
This step connects the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive to an ISO image file on the ESX Server machine. If autorun is enabled in your guest operating system (the default setting for Windows operating systems), a dialog box appears after a few seconds. It asks if you want to install VMware Tools. Click Install to launch the installation wizard.
If autorun is not enabled, the dialog box does not appear automatically. If it doesn't appear, run [VMwareTools].exe from the CD-ROM drive (Start > Run > D:[[VMwareTools]].exe, where D: is the first CD-ROM drive in your virtual machine) to install VMware Tools.
- Do one of the following:
- If you configured this virtual machine to use the vlance network driver, go to step 6.
- If you configured this virtual machine to use the vmxnet network driver, open the Windows Control Panel (Start > Settings > Control Panel) and double-click Add/Remove Hardware.
- In the Add/Remove Hardware Wizard, select Add/Troubleshoot a Device. Windows searches for Plug and Play devices.
- From the long list of hardware devices, select Ethernet Controller and click Next. You should get a message that the drivers for this device are not installed. Click Finish to continue.
- Click Next on the Upgrade Device Wizard screen. Select Search for a suitable driver for my hardware device and instruct Windows to search the CD-ROM drive. Windows should find D:\vmnet\win2k\oemsetup.inf (where D: is the first CD-ROM drive in your virtual machine). Click Next and Yes to complete the installation of the VMware network driver.
- When installation is complete, choose Settings > Cancel Tools Installto disconnect the ISO image file and return the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive to its original configuration. Installing VMware Tools and the Network Driver in a Windows NT 4.0 Guest
- Choose Settings > VMware Tools Install.
This step connects the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive to an ISO image file on the ESX Server machine. If autorun is enabled in your guest operating system (the default setting for Windows operating systems), a dialog box appears after a few seconds. It asks if you want to install VMware Tools. Click Install to launch the installation wizard.
If autorun is not enabled, the dialog box does not appear automatically. If it doesn't appear, run [VMwareTools].exe from the CD-ROM drive (Start > Run > D:[[VMwareTools]].exe, where D: is the first CD-ROM drive in your virtual machine) to install VMware Tools.
- Do one of the following:
- If you configured this virtual machine to use the vlance network driver, go to step 5.
- If you configured this virtual machine to use the vmxnet network driver, choose Start > Control Panel > Network > Adapters and click Add.
- Click Have Disk and enter D:\vmnet\winnt in the Insert Disk dialog (where D: is the first CD-ROM drive in your virtual machine). Click OK when VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter is displayed in the Select OEM Option dialog. The VMware network driver is installed.
- Click Close in the Adapters dialog box to complete the installation. Windows lets you configure the Internet address for the card.
If you are installing on a virtual machine that was created with VMware Workstation and used networking, you must use an address different from the one the original network configuration used (since that address is still assigned to the now nonexistent virtual AMD card). Or you can change the address assigned to the AMD card at this point.
Note: The VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter driver runs correctly only if you have Service Pack 3 or later installed. If you do not have the proper service pack installed yet, you may get an error message such as: "System Process - Driver Entry Point Not Found; The [[SystemRoot]]\System32\drivers\vmxnet.sys device driver could not locate the entry point [NdisGetFirstBufferFromPacket]in driver NDIS.SYS." However, even if you get this message, the driver should work if you subsequently install the correct service pack.
- When installation is complete, and before you reboot, choose Settings > Cancel Tools Install to disconnect the ISO image file and return the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive to its original configuration.
- Reboot the virtual machine. Installing VMware Tools and the Network Driver in a Linux Guest
- Choose Settings > VMware Tools Install.
This step connects the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive to an ISO image file on the ESX Server machine.
- In your Linux guest, become root, mount the VMware Tools virtual CD-ROM, copy the installer file from the virtual CD-ROM to /tmp, then unmount the CD-ROM.
{{su
cd /
mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom /mnt
cp /mnt/vmware-linux-tools.tar.gz /tmp
umount /dev/cdrom }}
- Untar the VMware Tools tar file in /tmp and install it.
{{cd /tmp
tar zxf vmware-linux-tools.tar.gz
cd vmware-linux-tools
./install.pl }}
Note: When installing VMware Tools in some versions of Linux, the installer will need to recompile VMware Tools. For this to work, you will need to have a C compiler installed in the guest. In some cases you may get compiler warning messages during the VMware Tools installation. However, the control panel and drivers will still work correctly.
- Do one of the following.
- If you configured this virtual machine to use the vlance network driver, go to step 6.
- If you configured this virtual machine to use the vmxnet network driver, test to be sure that the vmxnet driver is installed correctly.
{{insmod vmxnet }}
- If the driver is installed correctly, you see some informative output but no error messages. In addition, you should now have an entry such as
alias eth0 vmxnet in the file /etc/modules.conf (or
/etc/conf.modules in Red Hat Linux 6.2).
- When installation is complete, choose Settings > Cancel Tools Install to disconnect the ISO image file and return the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive to its original configuration.
- If you wish, start X and your graphical environment and launch the VMware Tools background application.
{{vmware-toolbox & }}
Note: If you created this virtual machine using only the vmxnet driver, you now need to run netconfigor another network configuration utility in the virtual machine to set up the virtual network adapter. Starting VMware Tools Automatically
You may find it helpful to configure your guest operating system so VMware Tools starts when you start X. The steps for doing so will vary, depending on your Linux distribution and the desktop environment you are running. Check your operating system documentation for the appropriate steps to take.
For example, in a Red Hat Linux 7.1 guest using GNOME, follow these steps.
- Open the Startup Programs panel in the GNOME Control Center.
Main Menu (the foot in the lower left corner of the screen) > Programs > Settings > Session > Startup Programs
- Click Add....
- In the Startup Command field, enter vmware-toolbox.
- Click OK, click OK again, then close the GNOME Control Center.
The next time you start X, VMware Tools will be started automatically. Installing VMware Tools in a [FreeBSD] Guest
- Choose Settings > VMware Tools Install.
This step connects the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive to an ISO image file on the ESX Server machine.
- In your Linux guest, become root, mount the VMware Tools floppy, copy the contents of the virtual floppy disk to /tmp, then unmount the floppy.
{{su
cd /
mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom /mnt
cp /mnt/vmware-freebsd-tools.tar.gz /tmp
umount /dev/fd0 }}
- Untar the VMware Tools tar file in /tmp and install it.
{{su
cd /tmp
tar zxf vmware-freebsd-tools.tar.gz
cd vmware-freebsd-tools
./install.pl}}
- When installation is complete, choose Settings > Cancel Tools Install to disconnect the ISO image file and return the virtual machine's CD-ROM drive to its original configuration.
- Start X and your graphical environment if they are not started yet.
- In an X terminal, launch the VMware Tools background application.
{{vmware-toolbox & }}
You may run VMware Tools as root or as a normal user. Preparing to Use the Remote Management Software
You can manage VMware ESX Server from a remote workstation using the VMware remote console and the VMware Management Interface.
Remote console software is available for Windows and Linux workstations. The remote console lets you attach directly to a virtual machine. You can start and stop programs, change the configuration of the guest operating system and do other tasks as if you were working at a physical computer.
The management interface can be used from any workstation with a compatible browser - Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher or Netscape 4.5 or higher. It gives you a bird's-eye view of all the registered virtual machines on a server and allows you to stop, start, suspend, resume and reset a virtual machine.
Note: If you need secure communications between your management workstations and the server, be sure to choose the appropriate security level when you configure ESX Server. For additional details, see the Network Security section in Authentication and Security Features. Registering Your Virtual Machines
If you create your virtual machines using the Virtual Machine Configuration Wizard, they are automatically registered in the file /etc/vmware/vm-liston the server's console operating system. The remote management software checks this file for pointers to the virtual machines you want to manage.
If you want to manage virtual machines that you set up in some other way, without using the wizard, you must first register them.
To do so, be sure the virtual machine is powered off. Then, on the overview page of the VMware Management Interface, point to the terminal icon for the virtual machine you want to register and click Edit Configuration. Select Registered at the top of the Edit Configuration page.
Note: Registered virtual machines appear in the list only if their configuration files are stored locally on the ESX Server computer. If the configuration files are stored on an NFS-mounted drive, the virtual machines are not listed.
You can also register the virtual machines from the console operating system. To do so, use this command:
{{vmware-control -s register /<configpath>/<configfile>.cfg }}
To remove a virtual machine from the list, use this command:
{{vmware-control -s unregister \
/<configpath>/<configfile>.cfg }}
Note: Type the whole command on one line. Do not type the backslash. Installing the Remote Console Software
Use the package that corresponds to the operating system running on your management workstation and follow the installation steps below.
Installer files are available on the distribution CD-ROM. You may also download the appropriate installer from the Overview page of the VMware Management Interface. Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0
- Find the installer file - VMware-console-1.v.v-xxxx.exe - on the distribution CD or in the directory where you downloaded it.
- Double-click VMware-console-1.v.v-xxxx.exe to start the installation wizard.
- Follow the on-screen instructions. Linux - RPM Installer
- Find the installer file - VMware-console-1.v.v-xxxx.i386.rpm - on the distribution CD or in the directory where you downloaded it and change to that directory.
- Become root.
{{su }}
- Run the RPM installer.
{{rpm -Uhv VMware-console-1.v.v-xxxx.i386.rpm }}Linux - Tar Installer
- Find the installer file - VMware-console-1.v.v-xxxx.tar.gz - on the distribution CD or in the directory where you downloaded it and copy it to the /tmp directory or another directory of your choice.
- Become root.
{{su }}
- Unpack the tar archive.
{{tar zxf VMware-console-1.v.v-xxxx.tar.gz }}
- Change to the directory where the archive was unpacked.
{{cd vmware-console-distrib }}
- Run the installer.
{{./vmware-install.pl }}
For information on running virtual machines from the remote console, see Using the Remote Console. Accepting the Security Certificate from ESX Server
The first time you use a Web browser to make a secure connection to an ESX Server machine, a dialog box asks whether you want to accept the security certificate presented by the server.
To do so, follow the steps below or take the equivalent steps for your browser version. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
- A security Alert dialog box appears. To see details of the certificate, click View Certificate. To accept the certificate, click Yes.
- Click *Install Certificate...*to launch a wizard that guides you through the process of installing the security certificate. Netscape Navigator 4.7x on a Windows Management Workstation
- A New Site Certificate dialog box appears. Click Next to begin the process of accepting the certificate.
- View the information about the certificate. Click Next to continue.
- Select Accept this certificate forever (until it expires). Click Next.
- View the fraud warning, then click Next.
- Click Finish to complete the process and begin using the security certificate.
